Time-Swept: The Odyssey
by Christarmewn
Summary: Papyrus has fallen into disbelief- literally. After his brother, Sans, and Frisk were murdered, Papyrus has struggled to stay on his two feet- until he meets X-002.5. X is a Sans from a broken AU. He's lost just as much- if not more than Papyrus, and has only one wish: to get his revenge on the man who destroyed his family, and home. Professor W.D. Gaster.
1. Prologue: Where it Began

Prologue: Where it Began

A quick question: what would you do if you ended up getting trapped in a world that kept repeating over and over? What if that very world was being controlled by a single person, and that person chose your fate every single time? And even more so, you can't remember the RESETs, so when your all-knowing brother tries to tell you that he's given up on the world, and he won't tell you why, or when he does, you don't believe a word he says, you feel you can't trust him, or anything anymore. What would a world like that look like? What would you do? What did I do? I did what I thought was sensible—I pestered my brother every time he mentioned something related to the topic. I tried convincing him to stay healthy and happy for the rest of his lifetime. I tried to be the best brother, and the only brother, I could be. I comforted him, loved him, and cared for him just like any good brother should.

However, what do you say when that very same brother that you loved and cried for, suddenly tells you that he saw you die? More than once? What do you do? What do you say? I can't remember what I did, personally. However, I know what happened. I know what they did. I know the ending.

Yes. I remember it still—though it was a long time ago.

I remember how they killed him.

What happened? I'll tell you what happened.

It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers were blooming, snow was falling lightly around Snowdin. But then, they came, and it was chaotic. Suddenly, cries rang out. People began to disperse amongst the fog, as the dust flitted into view. The monsters ran, searching for a place of refuge. A sentry wandered into the town, his arm dripping in blood from a previous fight with the human. He strode into the town, and pleaded that the villagers leave before they came. Scared, the monsters fled into the forest, trying to distance themselves from the human. I stood in the midst of the chaos, begging someone'd give me an answer. The sentry came to my side, covered in dust, and pleaded that I take the remaining monsters, and flee to Asgore's castle. The next moment, the sentry died.

Keeping my promise, I ushered the remaining villagers to safety, all the while completely confused. My soul was pounding in my chest all the while, and it was suddenly hard to breathe. When everyone was gone, I sat on the steps in front of Grillby's, the aroma of today's lunch still lingering in the air. Sans had left a while ago to do something, so I was alone. He said it was an "errand" from the king, and he would be returning later to do his work. I sat in the center of town, with the company of a child in a striped shirt.

The young boy looked at me, tears in his eyes, and asked me if everyone hated him. I asked him why he would think such things, and he replied with a choked whisper: "They said a kid with a striped shirt would come through. They said he was slaughtering monsters, and scaring them all away." I had no words.

The next minute, a silhouette appeared on the horizon; and I knew the human was finally coming. The child had a ribbon in their hair, and was holding a knife, with the tag for a toy store still attached to the handle. Along with this, their hands were coated with dust, and their shirt was splotched with blood. The monster child beside me, stood up, and broke off into a run as they approached, and I smiled foolishly at them.

"GREETINGS HUMAN! ARE YOU IN NEED OF DIRECTION? I AM AFRAID TO INFORM YOU THAT EVERYONE HAS FLED TO THE CAPITAL. IF YOU ARE WILLING TO JOIN THEM, I'D GLADLY GIVE YOU DIRECTIONS."

With my stupid remark, the child smiled eerily at me, and gave no such reply. They took a step forward, and twisted the knife in their hands, as if familiar with the blade's shape. I frowned in distaste.

"YOU AREN'T THE ONE SCARING EVERYONE OFF, RIGHT?"

They walked to the side, holding a small golden star briefly, and hitting a button that read SAVE. I watched them quietly, without giving any such reply.

"BECAUSE… IF YOU ARE, YOU NEED TO STOP."

I was such an idiot.

The child came forward, brought their knife in front of them, ready to hit me at full force. I felt my soul seem to stop, as the child finally hit home. The attack blurred my vision, and I braced myself for the pain that would come. The snow turned bright red as it dripped from the cut in my stomach. I shut my eyes, waiting for the pain still, but nothing came. There was a frustrated shout, and then a scream of agony. I opened my eyes, and found no injury across my abdomen. There was a crack, and following that, a sound so piercing it sounded like the air was ripping apart. A bloodcurdling, childish scream protruded from the human's lungs, and there was a sudden silence. Their body was covered in snow and blood, and bones jutted out of their midsection. In front of me, my faithful brother stood, turning to smile at me faintly, before he collapsed in the center of the village.

His dust flitted through the air, mixing with the light, and all that remained was his bloodied, blue jacket.

There was an empty pause, and I whispered his name. The human was still there, their soul flitting above their body, slowly cracking. I fell to my knees, and watched the scene replay in my head again and again, each time with me whispering his name. I searched expectantly for him to appear on the outskirts of the town somewhere. I waited for the sound of his trombone, and his goofy grin that he always had plastered on his face.

But nobody came.


	2. Chapter 1: I'm Still Smiling!

Chapter 1: I'm Still Smiling!

I stared at the scene, still in disbelief at what had happened. All around existed only silence, except for the faint sound of snow that could be heard from all sides. In the distance, I heard some shuffling in the forest. Monsters quickly came back, staring at the body of the child, and letting out sighs of relief. I picked up my brother's jacket tenderly, running my fingers across the seams, staring at the stain in the center of his jacket. The next moment, I felt my eyes grow hot with tears from the overwhelming hole in my heart that had begun to form. I still couldn't believe it… Sans… after all this time…

"Papyrus actually did it…" someone muttered.

"I didn't think it was even possible…" another replied.

"He… saved us?"

I held my brother's soaked jacket to my chest, the wind billowing the fluff around his hood in the wind. I could still smell the slight scent of ketchup emanating from the sleeves. Footsteps echoed around me, confused muttering filling the air, along with the wails of young children. Someone cheered my name, another greeted me, and sighed happily, some were ecstatic with euphoria. Others, the older ones, took notice of the dust in the air, and remained silent—heads bowed in respect. I heard the cry of a young child, and a sudden word escaped the mouth of who must've been Grillby.

"Daddy! What's happening!? I heard that Snowdin was being evacuated…"

He paused before answering shortly, "It's alright. It's over, hon."

Behind me, the voice of my friend Undyne rang past my skull, "What the HECK is going on here!?" she screamed, looking furiously across Snowdin, "Where's that darned human!?" she looked at the corpse ahead of me, and relaxed a bit, "Ah… it's dead. GOOD," she nodded, pleased, but began shouting again at the sight of their cracked soul, "The seventh human soul! SOMEONE GRAB IT—NOW!"

The nearest monster took hold of the soul, carefully keeping it in their palm, before Undyne ripped it from their hands, and let out a sigh of relief. She looked around, making sure nobody was hurt, and then finally saw me. I hadn't moved yet, and could barely see over the fluff of my brother's jacket.

"Papyrus!" she shouted happily, "I can't believe you did it! Congratulations! I guess this means I can let you into the Royal Guard now… but boy am I surprised! I didn't expect you to actually be able to—" she paused, "Hey—Papyrus, are you even listening!? I'm letting you into the royal guard now. Come on, aren't you happy?"

I sniffed, taking in a sharp breath, before I finally caught my tears.

"Hey, buddy… you alright?" there was a pause where she turned to look around, "Where's Sans?"

There was an empty silence between us, before I let out the softest sentence—so quiet it went almost unheard,

"he's gone."

Undyne flinched, "What? I didn't catch that…"

Slowly, trembling from head to toe, I stood up, blood dripping constantly from the tear in my brother's old coat. All around me, there were gasps, and the village grew very silent, "He's gone," I repeated. My jaw trembled, and I let my gaze move to Undyne's, and I saw her eyes widen in horror at the scene. Tears continued to slip down my cheeks as she stared quietly at what could've been the effects of a massacre.

"Papyrus… I—" she began, "What—"

"HE SAVED ME FROM THE HUMAN" I began, my voice breaking, "But now he's—" I clutched his jacket harder, my fingers pressing into the delicate seams so hard they nearly poked through the back, and I lowered my head into the hood, eyes wide in disbelief as my knees buckled, and banged together—now stiff with fear as I struggled to remain standing, "he's gone," I finally managed in-between sobs.

There was a long silence, before I turned, walked down the street—monsters parting a way for me to walk, and stepped onto the porch of our house. My fingers trembled on the doorknob before I was able to turn it, and head inside. I was greeted by the familiar warmth of our house. Only the lights had been turned off, making the room seem dark and cold. I took a few more steps, falling onto our jangly sofa in the clumsy way Sans often did, before I felt my eyelids close, and I was overwhelmed with exhaustion.

Drifting off, I hugged Sans' coat closer to me, pressing hard against my ribcage, before I was finally dragged into a long, deep sleep.

* * *

It was a long, dreamless night for me. I guess with all the energy I lacked, it really effected my sleep. By morning, the faint light from Snowdin glowed through my closed windows, the silhouettes of the blinds falling onto the floor, making it seem like there were bars on the windows. I sat up slowly, my heart aching with loss as I did so. I stared at the jacket that I still held tightly in my arms. The blood had finally dried, both to it and my clothes, making it seem as if I'd been a part of a mass murder, and my forehead was covered in white fluff. Sighing, I placed the jacket on the coat hanger by the door, and went to the bathroom to wash the blood off my clothes.

When I arrived at the entrance to the bathroom, I flicked on the light switch, and stripped my shirt off, and ran cold water from the sink in order to let it rinse. With that, I jumped into the shower, trying to get the remaining blood and dust off my own body.

Yesterday had been a true massacre. Sans was dead, and so many others in Snowdin had perished also. As far as I could see, the only positive outcome was that we now had seven human souls, and could shatter the barrier whenever we desired. I sat down, pondering as I thought carefully about how it had all happened. How had Sans even killed the child? He'd barely attacked, as far as I could see, and the area was free of carnage, so it was pretty clear that he'd only hit them once. But what was that supposed to mean? My brother wasn't fit, and he hadn't trained at all for physical combat. Not to mention he often would often run out of breath or have headaches because he was always in such bad shape. If this was all true, then how could my brother possible be so… powerful?

I shook my head, realizing I'd been taking too long of a shower already, and I shut off the water—a sudden chill vibrating up my spine from the blast of cold air as the warmth rushed beneath the door and into the hall. I paused, wrapped my body up in a fluffy, white towel, and stole my shirt out of the sink. I looked it over carefully, instantly noticing the water in the sink was now bright red, and my shirt was still somewhat stained. I shook my head, folded the shirt, and placed it on the counter, also taking off the rest of my battle body that I thought I'd keep wearing if it had gotten clean. However, now that the shirt was stained, I had no choice but to wash it for real this time.

Without a second's pause, I pulled the towel off my shoulders and wrapped it around my waist before opening the door. As the door opened, a fresh blast of cold air greeted me while I flicked on the fan to the bathroom and grabbed my dirty clothes, later planning to stick them in the washing machine. I took a few steps down the hall, the carpet giving underneath my toes, until I was finally in my bedroom; where I put on a fresh pair of clothes—an orange, button-down shirt, and a pair of black shorts, along with my scarf which I decided was okay to keep wearing.

Finally satisfied, I headed back downstairs, started the load of laundry, and sat down on the old sofa—half expecting Sans to flop down beside me and offer me a bag of Popato Chisps. I sat there for a moment, staring at the black television screen in silence, still hoping that I was only dreaming, and that Sans would come back. For a moment, as I stared at the screen, seeing my faint reflection look back at me, I could almost feel the presence of my brother. I blinked, watching my reflection waver with my slight movement, and stared. Sans, of course, wasn't there, but for some reason, I thought—out of the corner of my eye, that I'd seen him move next to me.

But perhaps… I'd only imagined it.

* * *

"That's weird…" a voice muttered, glancing at Papyrus' house, "Papyrus hasn't shown his face all day. He's never this quiet…"

"Not to mention Sans hasn't been around lately. Word has it he hasn't been to Grillby's since yesterday."

A young, female rabbit hopped over, her little brother following curiously behind her, "Hey, have either of you seen Sans or Papyrus today?" she asked curiously, staring at the other two monsters.

The jester nearby replied reverently, "I haven't. Word has it something happened to Sans, but nobody will tell me what."

The monster who had spoken second, a bear with brown fur, nodded in agreement, "I haven't either. We were wondering the same things as you."

"Well that's disappointing to hear. I miss Papyrus' voice. He was this town's only source of entertainment."

"I'd have to agree," the bear nodded.

"Well, let's not worry too much. This is Papyrus we're talking about! I mean, he's the one who defeated the human, and saved the underground! Let's not forget that."

"I still find that a little hard to believe…" the smaller boy bunny agreed.

Nearby, a couple of neighborhood kids listened to the other's conversation.

"Weird… so Papyrus is a no-show today… and neither is his lazy brother Sans," Monster Kid commented to two young slimes next to him.

"Yeah… I wonder what happened," the slime girl sighed, looking worriedly over at her brother.

"Maybe we should find out," her brother decided, his expression lifting with excitement a bit.

"Yeah! Sounds great Slimu, let's do that! After all, I'm pretty curious."

"Oh… okay then," Slimu's sister, Slima, sighed, tagging along with Monster Kid, and some of their other friends who had yet to speak.

The small huddle of kids wandered towards the door to Papyrus' house, and a small, girl rabbit knocked lightly on the door, "Hello? Papyrus, can we come in?"

Silence came from the other side.

"Maybe he's not home…" a small mouse whispered quietly, giving a little squeak as he turned to leave.

"Wait Kiki—" Monster Kid stopped the mouse in its path, it's long scarf billowing around it, "Wait a bit…"

Kiki looked up at the door, and then back down at its feet—shy and embarrassed for trying to leave.

"Hello?" the rabbit knocked again.

There was, once again, no answer.

"Where is he?" Slima asked.

"Oh, he's home—but he ain't answerin' tha door anytime soon," the kids turned to see the shop owner, Mrs. Hopkins approach them in her usual work attire.

"Yo-why isn't he answering?"

Mrs. Hopkins paused, her ears falling against her back as she shook her head, "He hasn't answered tha do for nobody lately. T'sall 'cuz a tha human tha came through. Ya see, yestaday when the human was stopped, it wasn't 'cuz Papyrus killed them, it was 'cuz his older brother, Sans, destroyed the human somehow," she looked up solemnly, "In fact, Papyrus didn't want the human dead at all. In truth, he was gonna spare 'em."

"So does that mean Papyrus won't answer because he's disappointed in Sans for killing them?" Slima asked.

"No… tha's not quite it, sweethart. The thin is… Sans sustained an injury caused by the human beforehand. He was protectin' Papyrus from their assault, and ended up gettin' hurt for it," she shook her head miserably, "The human killed 'em."

The children gasped, and there was a sudden silence.

"Sans…" the mouse began, "he's…"

"I can't believe it… yo…"

Nobody else spoke.

In that next moment, however, Kiki put on a determined glare, and knocked on the door again, "Papyrus, please—I'm so sorry about all this… but can you p-please answer us? We're sorry…"

Mrs. Hopkins shook her head, "It's no use, dearies. He's never comin' out."

The monster children glanced at each other sadly, before they all turned around and walked home—heads bowed in a mix of grief and confusion. Kiki, however, just stood there aimlessly, wondering about what he should do. Kiki looked about, for a moment, observing the others in Snowdin, and then sat down and let out a sigh, before finally squeaking a reply.

"I know how it feels, y-you know… to be alone…" Papyrus gave no reply, "I'm alone more than any monster should. I mean… before I met monster kid and the others, that is," there was a quiet shuffle of feet from the other side, "Please don't worry about it though. It's all going to work out… you'll see. It always does… Sans told me that."

The footsteps halted in front of the door, and he heard Papyrus slide to the floor on the other side. Kiki hesitated, letting that sink in for a moment before starting again, "I could never seem to fit in before I met everyone. I tried joining in with others on their jokes, or commenting on something I could relate to, but I'm just not funny. I never really was… I'm still not. I'm lucky I have friends at all…" Kiki's voice broke, and he fell silent, his lower lip trembling.

There was a long pause...

"But you don't know what this feels like…" Papyrus' voice echoed from the other side of the door.

Kiki's ears twitched in shock that he'd actually replied, and he opened his mouth to speak again, "I know… but I'm the only one here who can relate to your pain—at least a little."

The silence between them returned, growing emptier and more definite the longer they paused, until Kiki stood up.

"I understand if you don't want to talk—that's completely fine," he sighed, "I was only trying to be helpful. You don't have to talk to me anymore."

However, as Kiki turned to leave, the sound of the handle turning filled the silence, and snow fluttered into the tiny crack that signaled that the door had been opened. Neither one of them spoke to each other. Kiki simply stared into the empty eyes of the skeleton, his face both solemn and nervous, while Papyrus' eyes were downcast and empty. His long scarf billowed around him, every now-and-then the beams of light from the outdoors shimmering against the seams of it, and his battle body had been replaced with plain clothes—a simple orange polo and black shorts, though he still wore his trademark red scarf.

Papyrus paused, staring quietly at Kiki before opening the door completely, "Come in," he shook his head, and then smiled, "IT MUST BE COLD OUT THERE. IT'S A GOOD THING YOU'RE BUNDLED UP! I'VE GOT SOME LEFTOVER SPAGHETTI YOU'RE FREE TO HAVE! SANS PROBABLY WON'T MIND."

And with that, the Papyrus held out his hand and ushered the mouse inside—acting as if nothing had happened.


	3. Chapter 2: His Secret

Chapter 2: His Secret

I opened the door as wide as I could to let the little mouse inside. After all, it was still snowing, and it bothered me to see someone small and lonely getting cold out in the snow. Smiling, I watched as the little mouse entered into my living room.

"THANKS FOR TALKING TO ME," I said, smiling faintly, "I REALLY APPRECIATE IT."

The mouse smiled back, his eyes looking a little sad as he did so, "I just thought you were a little lonely, is all."

I sighed, "YEAH… BUT DON'T WORRY! THE GREAT PAPYRUS ALWAYS FINDS WAYS TO BE POSITIVE!" I grinned, but flinched at the sight of my brother's jacket, "BECAUSE… I KNOW THAT..." my smile faded, "Sans wouldn't want me to feel this way."

The mouse's ears drooped, "Oh… please don't feel sad… it's alright…"

There was a dark pause in the air that shattered my nonchalant mood.

"I'm not sad… I'm just… a little lonely… is all," I looked down, noticing my arms were shaking, "I'LL GO COOK UP SOME SPAGHETTI FOR US TO EAT. WANT ANY?"

"I'm not very hungry… but I'll have some anyway… if you want."

I nodded, my smile returning, and rushed to the kitchen, "LET'S SEE… NOODLES, SAUCE, A NICE BIG POT—HEY, SANS!? CAN YOU GRAB ME THE—COOK…book…"

The mouse shook his head, "It's alright to feel bad Papyrus… we can talk about it if you want…"

"No, no… I…" Papyrus took in a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, "I JUST NEED A LITTLE TIME TO CLEAR MY HEAD. I MEAN… WITH SANS GONE, I JUST SORT OF… WELL… I'M JUST A LITTLE LOST, IS ALL. BUT GIVEN TIME, AND I'LL BE ALRIGHT. I JUST NEED A FEW DAYS TO LET THIS BLOW OVER. IT'LL BE LIKE ... AN ADVENTURE!" I tried to smile, but I made more of a grimace instead, and I let my smile fade, "Look…" I paused, realizing that I couldn't remember the mouse's name.

"Kiki," he said quickly, catching my confused gaze.

"Kiki," I nodded, repeating the name, and closed my eyes before I started again, "Look… Kiki, what I guess I'm just trying to say is—" I hesitated for a moment, trying to find the right words, before finally muttering, "thank you," and I turned back to my spaghetti which had begun to boil over.

Swiftly, I approached the mouse without a second hesitation, and handed him a plate. When he was served, I sat down across from him, and took a bit for myself—slowly swirling the noodles around my fork in awkward abandon.

Kiki took a forkful of noodles and crammed it into his mouth hungrily, "W-wow! This tastes pretty good!" he smiled appreciatively at me, and took another bite.

I sighed, picking up the noodles with my fork, "I guess I didn't do half bad this time."

Kiki watched me, his ears drooping a bit, "It's alright Papyrus…"

Frustrated, I let my fork clatter to the floor, and I stood up quickly, bumping the table before I slammed my hands down on the surface, "NO, IT'S NOT ALRIGHT," I said suddenly, my voice trembling, "I LOST MY BROTHER—WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO REACT!?" my voice raised and I threw my hands up in the air, "IT'S JUST POINTLESS! SANS WAS EVERYTHING TO ME," I swayed a bit, placing my hands on my forehead, "Oh… oh my gosh… what do I? I've really lost him—haven't I?" my knees buckled like the day before, and I took a step back, leaning against the wall on my left for support. My breathing quickened and my vision blurred, "Sans always took care of everything. HE paid for the house, the food, our clothes… he did everything, and I never noticed. What am I supposed to do!?" my soul flickered to life, pounding harshly beneath my ribs and I felt hot tears form in my eyes, "What do I do!?" I placed my hand over where my soul was, feeling it beat terribly against me, and I slid down the wall onto the floor.

Kiki stood up, "Papyrus! A-are you alright!?"

I keeled over, balling my fists on the floor. My eye flickered to a deep orange while I continued hyperventilating, "What am I supposed to do!? I've never done anything like this before!"

"Papyrus calm down—you're alright, just take a deep breath—"

"HE'S GONE—WHAT DO I DO!?" I turned, slamming my fists into the wall a few times before sobbing as loud as I'd ever sobbed. Meanwhile, in the midst of my cries, the coat hanger next to the door collapsed to the floor with a loud crash, and the whole room was suddenly silent except for my quiet sobbing.

"Oh dear…" Kiki panicked, rushing over to place the coat hanger back on its feet, when he suddenly paused, "What's this?"

I sniffed, "That's Sans' jacket. He left it before he…" I choked, and fell silent.

"No—there's a piece of paper lying here on the floor. This doesn't look like your handwriting—did Sans write this? Hey Papyrus—you should look at this."

"What?" I sniffed.

"Look!" Kiki ran towards me and handed me the note.

"It's just a piece of paper…" I began, but when I saw the droplets of blood on it, I realized it must've been from Sans' jacket pocket, "WAIT—YOU'RE RIGHT… SANS WROTE THIS."

I stood up and eyed the note carefully, noticing the hardly legible cursive that my brother wrote in, before beginning to read.

Dear Papyrus,

If you are reading this, there's a good chance that I'm already dead. I didn't want to tell you before, but now I see there's no point in hiding this any longer. I've discovered a little something inside my workshop. It seems impossible, but there's a human that has somehow learned to manipulate time at their own will. At first I didn't notice, but one time I discovered the mysterious object they were using to manipulate time with, and I tried taking it to observe it in my workshop. The only problem was, I couldn't seem to grab it. However, when I held it, I've been able to remember the different "RESETs" that the human did, and I can remember every single timeline. It's such a curse to me that I…

I decided there was only one way to put an end to the cycle of RESETs. I was getting tired of it all, and I've made my choice. Since only me and the human could remember the timelines, I did the math, and discovered that there was only one way to stop it. I had to kill the human myself, and in that process die as well. Since we're the only ones who can remember the resets, as far as I've researched, there will no longer be a loop in time. That's pretty good for me, because I promise—If I'd have to endure another reset, I'd go insane.

There are some downsides. A talking flower can also remember them, and I discovered this too late. I'd already planned the time I had to kill the human—directly after a "save", and so I didn't have any time to go after it. Luckily, that flower doesn't appear to have enough soul power to manipulate time, so I think it'll be okay.

I also wanted to say sorry. I know this was probably the worst turn of events, but I couldn't endure watching you I couldn't endure watching what the kid would do to you, and everyone. It appears this route turned genocide on us… didn't it? I'm sorry I was such a turd to you. I never told you the truth, and I always made you worry about everything, but I didn't have a choice. Even if I told you the truth, you'd forget what I said anyway. Please forgive me for this—I'm sorry.

Anyways, good luck in the royal guard! I'm rooting for you Paps.

-Sans

PS, Also, if you want the entire story, the key to my workshop is in my top bedroom drawer—the one with the trombone in it.

There's one more thing though—because resets aren't possible anymore, this means I'll never be able to see you again. I'm so sorry… Papyrus.

The last half of the note was a lot harder to read, I noticed, because the ink was obscured with tears. After I'd finished reading, I placed the letter on the table, and sat down.

"He knew…" was all I could manage. The words fell loosely off my tongue, as if I hadn't even spoken them and they'd merely come out on their own. A tear slid down my cheek, but for some odd reason the note didn't make me as sad as I thought it should, "He knew, but he went through with it anyway," I managed.

"Startling…" Kiki didn't say much.

I sat there for a moment, dumbfounded, before I walked briskly to the stairwell. My pace accelerated before I got to Sans' bedroom door, and I rushed inside, dug around his top drawer, and pulled out a small, silver key. There was a ruby imbedded in the top, and the sides of it had swirly patterns engraved in the sides. I stuffed it in my chest pocket, and darted back downstairs. Kiki watched me come down the stairs with interest, though before he could ask, I passed by him and found Sans' workshop where he left it. The door was locked, of course, so I inserted the strange key into the lock, and gave the door a hearty push.

This is it. I'm finally going to figure out what Sans has been hiding from me.


	4. Chapter 3: X-002,5

Chapter 3: X-002.5

I thrust the door open, its hinges creaking as it did so. Automatic lights flashed on, blinding me with white light. Squinting, I crossed the room, heading towards a counter that was against the wall directly to my left. I glanced at the room, looking down only to see my reflection staring back at me. The floor looked like it had been polished thousands of times before; so polished in fact that it looked like I was staring into a giant mirror. Managing to pry my eyes away, I looked around further. On the counter was a stack of blueprints written in Sans' messy scrawl he called cursive, along with various symbols and pictures that made up the smaller descriptions. I couldn't read any of it because it was so mixed up, and I was beginning to wonder why someone as lazy as Sans would bother to write in such a complicated fashion.

Resuming my curious search, I opened the drawers, finding a photograph with Sans standing in front of some people that I had never seen before. However I did recognize a girl who had a head shaped like a clam, along with Sans in the middle beside her. She was dressed fancy, and so was my brother, who was holding a piece of paper that looked like a diploma of some sort. Next to that was a photo album where I guessed the picture had come from. As I flipped through it, I didn't recognize any of the people in the photographs except for the clam girl. However, in one of the pictures, Sans was holding a tiny bundle of orange blankets—me as a baby.

I brushed my fingertips over the old picture, studying his face and my own. Sans was wearing glasses, and looked like he was only about five. Next to him was a tall man who had his hand on Sans' shoulder, and I was resting in the blankets. My face told me I was about three, and the fact I was asleep confirmed Sans' reason for holding my small body in his arms for the picture.

Again, I still don't get how he's so impossibly strong. He could lift me at that age without trouble, yet nowadays I can't get him to so much as pick his sock off the floor. Pausing, I thought for a moment. Now that I thought about it, there were a lot of things Sans did or said without giving me any reasons for doing so. There were mornings where he acted unusually depressed, telling me things like "there's no reason to keep going," or "i gave up a long time ago," and he usually scared me quite a bit. Other days, he'd have no trouble laughing and joking around, as usual, when suddenly, he'd disappear someplace, and return without saying a word about where he was, and for the rest of the afternoon he'd refuse speaking to me. I suspected for a while that he just lacked motivation, but now I see it's more than that.

I placed the photo on the counter carefully, and began to rummage through the other drawers. After a bit of digging through old pieces of machinery, I found a badge which had some sort of wording on it that was unreadable, and a crudely drawn picture of himself, the taller man in the photograph I saw earlier, and a girl who I didn't recognize. Beneath the three were neatly written letters in Sans' fancy cursive that read "don't forget", on it. The other drawers I couldn't open, because it looked like Sans took the handles off with a screwdriver.

In the corner of the room I saw something that had a purple sheet draped over it, and I immediately darted over to it.

"THERE IT IS!" I shouted in frustration. It was about time I'd found that old blanket of mine!

I grabbed the edges of the sheet in a firm grasp, and thrust the sheet off of whatever object it was covering. With a pause, I looked at it with an annoyed look on my face after seeing it had been torn in several places, and oil stains had been left on the fabric carelessly. I folded it up, shaking the dust off it as well, before I turned to see what it had been covering. Behind the sheet there was an old machine, one that I suspected went along with the blueprints on the counter. It had a very strange appearance, and it seemed pretty broken from something. However, as I examined the scratches, I saw what looked like blood stained across the machine, and on the sheet. Along the blood, I could see several dents scratches along the machine, which looked like someone had been desperately trying to either damage the machine, or got frustrated when they couldn't fix it.

I paused, my eyes creasing with worry at the sight of the blood. Suddenly, however, in my pause, I remembered something that made my soul stop with shock. I could recall another time where Sans came inside our house with his hands covered in bandages that were stained with blood and oil. His forehead was sweaty, and his jacket was tied around his waist, and there was a welding mask on his head. I gave him a questioning look, but he just went upstairs and collapsed on his bed. For the rest of the day, he remained locked up in his room, and refused to speak to me at all.

Now it was clear to me. Sans had been working on his machine here in his workshop, and he couldn't fix it, so he became violent and damaged the machine out of frustration when he couldn't fix it. But what was the point of all the pictures, and the badge that he had in his drawer? I looked over everything, including his note, when I looked at the drawers again. Carefully, I used the tips of my fingers to pry it open, and pulled out various machine parts out of both drawers. Based on all this, Sans had been dedicating all of his spare time to fixing this machine. The only question I had, was why? Why did he wanted to fix this machine so badly? I glanced at it, looking all over for some sort answer. Out of curiosity, I extended my hand towards the machine, and placed my palm on a small screen of some sort.

The moment I touched it, the screen flickered on, and strange pictures were suddenly displayed across it. It looked like they spelled some sort of word, but I couldn't tell what it meant. After pausing to look it over, I placed my finger on it, and the lights suddenly turned off. I stood up in surprise as the monitor turned on, its blue light flooding the room while the same unreadable text was displayed on it. I stepped backwards in fear, bumping into the machine, and then suddenly, it started to make an odd sound.

"W-WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

The machine suddenly lit up with white light, and the room exploded with sound. The monitor crackled with electricity as an alarm began to sound, the azure screen turning scarlet, while the machine continued humming with a terrible whir. I fell down, crying out when I hit the floor, and suddenly the light began to envelop me. I opened my eyes as the light came crashing upon me, and I could feel my body writhing in rejection as I felt the whole world around me twist and contort inside a vacuum. Numbers spun past my eyes in a whirlwind while the machines screams continued to split the air with its horrible screech, until suddenly the lights faded, and I felt my limp body crashing through what felt like layers and layers of glass, until I hit solid ground.

I lay still on the floor, gasping and coughing from the horrible experience, and then managed to open my eyes. I was no longer in Sans' workshop.

* * *

ENTRY #1:

I have arrived in the code. It took me years of timelines to map out the database, but I've finally done it. Using every ounce of determination I had, I managed engineer a pair of goggles that allow me to see the data stream. I tried using the time machine, but it broke when he destroyed my AU. Lucky for me though, I'll be able to track him down, and finally kill him and his human abomination.

ENTRY #2:

The code gave me a new name. Nobody is going to ever know who I was anymore; and honestly, I don't care. When _that_ happened, I lost everything—including myself. I don't deserved to be called… what I was called.

ENTRY #3:

I have yet to find traces of the doctor. If he did what the others told me he did, I should be able to find him. However, I haven't even found a trace of his existence here. WD-G00.x should be somewhere in the code though—unless the rumors were false after all. But I can't give up yet—the timelines are depending on me.

ENTRY #4:

I found something.

ENRTY #5:

I found someone I think could possibly be related to WD-G00.x. A piece of code like me, named T-021.9 is also here, only they support the Open Box project. Hopefully that means that they, like me, have a "bone" to pick with WD, and I can see why. What he did could cause every world here to melt down into total annihilation. I'm going to stop him before he does anything else stupid.

ENTRY #6:

They kinda remind me of Frisk. T-021.9 claims that they're a friendly little fellow, so they remind me of that pacifist kiddo back where I used to live. Before they destroyed everything, anyways. In fact… maybe they are Frisk. But… Frisk's face wasn't all black and distorted on one side…

ENTRY #7:

They attacked me. T-021.9 was helping me look for traces of WD's magical residue in the Outertale AU, when all of a sudden they just—attacked me. They disappeared into the code after realizing what they did. On my own, I discovered the 2 in their name signifies the existence of two separate beings sharing one body. In other words, the consciousness of T temporarily was swapped with someone named A, the new guy who showed up: A-021.1. This is getting a little strange…

ENTRY #8:

It happens more often than I thought. Today, T lost control over her body again, and A took over and tried to kill me. I think that I'm seeing the pacifist and genocide versions of the original Frisk and Chara from my universe, and I've come to the conclusion that they work for WD. I'm not sure if I can handle having them around anymore.

ENTRY #9:

I discovered who they are. In fact, we both are. I think that T, is Theta, which means she's WD's old artificial human experiment that destroyed the underground. That means I have to destroy them. In my universe, Theta was given the task of destroying the barrier, but went berserk and killed everyone on the orders of WD. I'm guessing A is his personal slave that he's using to try and kill me.

ENTRY #10:

I almost managed to catch Theta, but when they realized I was after them, they fled. Crap…

ENTRY #11:

I'm completely alone now. Life's pretty boring when you're floating around dimensions without a partner to accompany you. I would've grabbed Papyrus, but he's dead, and so's everyone else.

ENTRY #12:

I figured out why he called them Theta and Alpha back then. Theta is the eighth letter in the Greek alphabet, Θ, which means she's the eighth human. Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet, Α, which means she's the first human. I'm guessing he did this to make it scientific or whatever, but why their names became T-021.9 and A-021.1 is a mystery to me. It's similar to how I became an X-002.5, rather than my normal name. I'm guessing my code got tampered with when my universe fell apart.

ENTRY # 13:

Plain and simple: nothing was found today, or any other day this week. Pointless entry.

ENTRY # 14:

Actually… I did find something. An organic life form existing separate from the code. I don't get how this is possible… but I'll investigate.

ENTRY #15:

They're intelligent. They can speak, and I've heard their voice before, but I don't know where. They're also a fool, because the moment they awoke, they interacted with Theta/Alpha. I'll intervene if something bad happens.

* * *

When I could stand, I did a 360 to check the whole place out. the entire area I was in was completely black, and there wasn't any obvious place where the ceiling and floor met. Wherever I was, I wasn't in Snowdin anymore.

I took a few steps forward, looking around in interest before I called out "HELLO?" into the darkness. My voice echoed emptily in the vast void I stood in, but nobody replied. The place was empty of sound or inhabitance. However, in my moment of confusion and puzzlement, someone replied with a soft "help me…". Shocked, I whirled around, noticing a little girl in a long, white dress. There was a picture of a clock imprinted on her abdomen, while her arms, shoulders, legs, and feet were bare. There was also a long ribbon tied around her neck, and one of her arms and legs were black, and dripping with a runny substance. Her right eye was covered in the same substance as well, and there were tears forming in her opposite eye.

"please…" she choked, her body flickering in an almost glitchy way.

I took a step forward, but there came another voice, "you're going to regret doing that."

I turned back around, "REGRET DOING WHAT?"

"that child is cursed to all organic matter. if you touch them, they'll make you like _them_."

"HOW DO YOU KNOW IF THEY'RE CURSED OR NOT? THEY LOOK LIKE THEY NEED MY HELP…"

"stop advancing," the source of the voice took a step forward, moving out of the shadows.

I kept walking towards her, and reached out to her outstretched hand, "WHAT'S THE MATTER, HUMAN?"

In a flash of light, the one who spoke rushed forward and collided with the girl, smashing her some distance away, where she screamed in agony and fear.

"HEY! WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?"

The speaker extended his arm, holding a long bone in his hand and pointed it at my face, "i want to figure out who you are BEFORE you die here. now—who are you?" he looked at me underneath his hood, and when he looked into my eyes, he took a startled step backwards before muttering, "papyrus?"

My eyes widened as he removed his hood, "WAIT… SANS? IS THAT—YOU?"

There was a long pause where neither one of us said anything, until finally Sans shook his head, "no… you're not _my_ papyrus. my papyrus is dead," he turned to go after the human again, but I grabbed his sleeve.

"SANS WAIT—YOU'RE STILL ALIVE?"

"i'm not sans," he answered coldly, "and i never was."

"WHAT? BUT HOW CAN YOU NOT BE?"

"i'm not _your_ sans anyway. like me, your sans is dead. where i come from, i lost my papyrus. whoever you are, you're not my brother, and i'm not yours."

"HUH?" I took a step back, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN? I MEAN… YOU'RE STILL SANS, RIGHT?"

He turned, "i USED to be," I opened my mouth to argue, but he interrupted me, "like i said, i'm not your brother. therefore, i'm someone else. my name is X-002.5. get used to calling me that."

And with that, he turned and walked back to the human.

Note:

*I recently edited the entries so they'd make more sense. Keep in mind this story is a work in progress.


	5. Chapter 4: Defection

Chapter 4: Defection

"alright you frickin' coward, get over here. i've been chasing you around here long enough."

The human whimpered fearfully, scooting a distance away, "X—please! I'm your friend! I-I promise I won't hurt you!"

"look theta—it's not YOU i'm worried about. now c'mon—bring out alpha before i finish you off."

"STOP!" I screamed furiously, slamming my body into Sans as hard as I could, "DON'T HURT THEM—WE CAN SOLVE THIS WITHOUT VIOLENCE—"

"GET OFF ME! THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!" the human he called Theta had leapt up and began running—her dress billowing behind her. In a second, Sans grabbed me by the back of my shirt, lifted me up, and threw me across the empty room, causing me to let out a gasp of surprise at his sudden strength, and he darted towards them, using his magic to cease their movements.

"N-no! X, please!"

"show me alpha, and i won't hurt you."

"But if you hurt Alpha, you'll hurt me too!"

He flinched, "i know. but i can't help what w.d. did to you. your existence is a threat to us all. sorry…"

She breathed heavily, "Y-you monster…" after muttering a curse, her body began to writhe, and her appearance changed with a sudden gust of wind, binary spilling out of her body, and her eyes turned a deep red, a smile appearing on her face, " **Hello, old friend.** "

"shut-up," he rushed forward suddenly, lashing out at the girl, but she intercepted with a long katana magically forming in front of her. I stared in horror as the two murderously clashed with each other, both trying to kill the other, and let out a scream.

"SANS STOP!"

" **Oh, get it right Papyrus. That idiot I'm fighting isn't Sans. He's a program—like me and Theta. X-002.5, is his name, but he call him X for short.** "

The skeleton who was apparently NOT Sans, grabbed the sash of the human's dress, and threw her down, "keep your mouth shut. he's not supposed to know any of this stuff."

" **Oh? Wow, that's a surprise, SANSY. Hiding stuff from your own BROTHER now?** "

"SHUT-UP ABOUT PAPYRUS YOU STUPID MEGALOMANIAC!" I rushed forward, just as he was about to shove bones through her insides, and grasped the human's waist, pulling her to safety, just when the bones shot through the floor, "ghk!?"

There was an eerie pause, before the girl and I locked eyes. An evil smile crept on her face, and I let out a startled cry. She wasn't the girl I'd seen before—this human was a boy! But… how did that happen!? His voice filled my skull with a tormenting thrum " **Why THANK YOU, Papyrus. I really do owe you one! But yanno, instead of worrying about paying you back, I think KILLING you would be easier!** "

"WHAT!?"

"you idiot—what have you done!? i almost HAD them!"

" **No, actually. I was going to win anyways,** " he held up a round object that resembled some sort of clock, " **I was saving this for** ** _you_** **, yanno, but I guess he'll do just as nicely,** " they let out a terrible laugh, and I felt someone pry my arms off the human and carry me off after the clock exploded in white light. After a shocked gasp, I felt the world around me start to spin, and my body writhed in shock, but the arms of the other held me firmly so we couldn't be separated. However, after just another minute, the light dissolved, and I felt the world around me grow cold and numb, until I landed softly in a sheet of white.

For moments, I lay there, the one who'd saved me on top of me, breathing heavily, until I found the strength to open my eyes. It was snowing, and in the distance I could see Sans' sentry post—vacant, of course. Was I… dreaming? After a pause, I realized a rather heavy weight was resting on my back, and I turned to see X still laying with his arms around my middle. He blinked, shifted his weight, and got off after pausing to rest.

"well… that sucked."

"WHAT HAPPENED…?"

"alpha apparently had a time bomb. and when i say that, i mean it was LITERALLY a time bomb. it exploded, and it seems to have sent us to a different timeline as an after effect."

"WHICH MEANS WHAT?"

"it means that you and i were just warped to another dimension while that dingus decided to skedaddle."

"OH…" I cringed, "UM… DOES THAT MEAN THIS IS MY FAULT?"

"yup, idiot. you haven't changed at all, have you?" he replied icily.

"AH…" there was an awkward pause between us, "SO… COULD YOU EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED?"

He paused, and then let out an exasperated sigh, "sorry bucko, but you're out of luck there. see—i'm not supposed to tell organic matter what the crap happens around here. if i told you, i'd be breaking just about every rule in the rule book."

"PLEASE? I WON'T TELL ANYONE…"

"look stupid," he began, quickly getting irritated, "i just can't tell you—alright? now keep your boney mouth shut, or i'll shut it for you," he stood up, "i'm going to send you back to your own timeline, so keep quiet so i can focus, alright?" he pulled a small pocket watch out of his jacket pocket, and turned the knob on the side a few times, causing it to enlarge to the size of a small cantaloupe, and proceeded to gingerly touch the inside, reading something I couldn't see, "where're you from?"

"UM… SNOWDIN?" I answered, wondering why he needed to ask.

"no, idiot—what au?"

"UH… WHAT'S AN AU?"

"seriously?" he stared at me in complete disbelief before letting out an exasperated sigh, "does, ALTERNATE UNIVERSE, ring a bell, perhaps?"

I blinked, "WHAT…?"

He muttered a curse under his breath and kicked a nearby tree before raising his voice, "you don't KNOW!?" I shook my head, and he groaned miserably, "crap. guess we'll have to figure it out, huh?" he placed his hand on the pocket watch again, "analyze."

There was a small whir of cogs, and the pocket watch began to glow with a bright green light. The beam fell across me, moving up and down, before the watch beeped, and X swore again before dropping it into the snow. Grumbling, he picked it up, dusted it off, and I watched his eyes widen in shock, "w-what!?"

"IS SOMETHING WRONG?" I asked worriedly.

"well this piece of crap says you don't frikin' exist. says you're 'unidentifiable'. guess that means you're a newbie…" he sighed, his temper softening, "that's okay. this thing's almost dead, anyway. i couldn't take you back if i wanted to," he turned to look at me again, "in the meantime, keep your head down. if these guys here see me with you, i'll make _him_ even madder than he already is at me."

X began to walk away, but I followed, still in blind confusion, "WHO'S MAD AT YOU?"

"you're not supposed to know that. now keep quiet, or i ain't sending you back."

"BUT YOU SAID THAT THING WAS ALMOST DEAD."

"that doesn't mean i won't refuse to do it later," he slipped a pair of goggles he had on his forehead over his eyes, and pressed a button on the side, "let's see… the nearest source is…" he paused for a moment, and then pointed off in the direction of Asgore's castle, "east."

Before he started walking away, I grabbed the hem of his sleeve, "X, WAIT."

"what is it now?" he glared at me, turning back around.

"COULD YOU EXPLAIN SOMETHING?"

"explain what?" he repeated, more irritated.

"WHAT'S HAPPENING? WHERE AM I—WHY ARE YOU… NO. _WHO_ , ARE YOU?"

He sighed, "i don't have time for this…"

"YES YOU DO."

"no, i don't," he reassured me, shaking his head, "thing is, people here don't really like me. i ain't got the best reputation, so unlike you, i try to keep it low."

"YOU'RE ONLY GIVING ME MORE QUESTIONS…"

He sighed, his expression changing to something more familiar—worry, "look…" he shuffled his feet, jamming his hands into his pockets, and flipping his hood onto his head, "it's better if you're blind to all this. i need to take you back before you… learn too much. this stuff is… pretty brutal. i don't have the best backstory. truth be told, it's… a lot like yours—my bro dying, and all that," he sighed, "just don't let it bother you—it doesn't bother me anymore."

I fell silent, becoming a bit shaky at his cryptic reply, and decided it best to simply do as he told. He guided me a short ways before stopping in a snowy field of trees. After glancing both ways, he proceeded down the path, exercising caution before passing a neatly arranged puzzle that I recognized to be the invisible maze.

"HEY—I ROCOGNIZE THAT PUZZLE!"

"keep quiet—they might hear you!" when I looked, X had hidden behind a coupling of trees, and was ushering me over. When I refused to move quickly enough, he used his magic and plopped me down next to him.

"OUCH! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SO ROUGH…"

"can you shut-up please!? listen…"

I paused, listening to the air, until I heard someone's voice from afar shout loudly, "GET UP YOU LAZYBONES! YOU NEED TO FINISH UP YOUR PUZZLE—AND QUIT SMOKING!" he coughed, and through the leaves I could see him waving the smoke out of his face with his hand.

"what? it's not like it's bad for me. **i ain't got the heart for it**."

"UGH…" he slapped his face, "PAPYRUS, WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THE PUNS?"

"oops. sorry bro."

I gasped, hearing my name, and X placed his hand over my mouth, "shh!"

There was a pause, "HMM? PAPYRUS, WAS THAT YOU?"

"was what me?"

"THAT GASP. IT SOUNDED… FAMILIAR."

"i didn't hear anything. are you sure you didn't just imagine it?"

"NO… I THOUGHT I HEARD IT."

"oh you're just imagining things."

The two began to walk again, when the bluer one, who I realized looked like Sans, stopped in front of the puzzle, "WELL, GO TO YOUR STATION. I NEED TO FINISH POLISHING UP THIS PUZZLE. IT GOT A LITTLE UNCALIBRATED WHEN THAT AVALANCHE CAME THROUGH. YOU SHOULD GO FIX YOURS TOO—I BET IT NEEDS IT."

"IS THAT WHY WE DIDN'T GET SHOCKED?" I muttered, "NO WAIT… WE WEREN'T HOLDING THE ORB—THAT'S WHY!"

"'kay sans. i'll be at my station if you need me."

"MAKE SURE TO FIX YOUR PUZZLE LATER!" he shouted, before the other Papyrus disappeared in the midst of the trees. After a moment, the blue Sans started humming a rather abstract melody while messing with the electronics inside the orb he had.

"okay, it's alright to come out now. this guy's no big deal—without papyrus around to stop us, that is," he formed a long, thin bone in his hand, and began to advance behind the unsuspecting skeleton.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" I whispered furiously.

"taking this guy out. don't worry— **he won't know what hit him.** "

"NO—WAIT X!"

He raised the bone above his head, and launched at the other skeleton with excellent speed. Just as he swung downward however, the other Sans shifted out of the way, and turned to intercept with a deadly smack of his bone. Shocked, X stumbled backwards and before tumbling off the edge, rooted his bone in the snowy ground to destabilize himself.

"I KNEW IT!" the blue version of Sans shouted, "JUST AS I THOUGHT—IT WAS YOU!"

"YOU GUY'S HAVE MET BEFORE?" I asked, still shocked to see two Sanses in the same place.

"yup. but like i said, we don't get along."

The other skeleton puffed out his cheeks angrily, "AS IF! I'M ONLY AGAINST YOU 'CUZ YOU'RE A WANTED CRIMINAL!"

I blinked. Wait… X is… wanted?

"shut-up you little blue cheesecake!" X darted forward, but the other intercepted again.

"CHEESECAKE!? I FIND THAT OFFENSIVE!" he pushed X aside harshly, and dodge a group of green, transparent bones that shot out of the ground.

"X—WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

"i told you already—i can't tell you! that's dark stuff!"

Sans scoffed, "CAN'T? OH HOW SILLY!" he launched a flurry of bone attacks at X, and continued, "I'M NOT SURE WHO YOU ARE OR WHAT AU YOU'RE FROM, BUT YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO KNOW WHO THIS GUY IS—ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU'RE CLUELESS ABOUT THE SITUATION, AND EVEN SEEM TO BE ON HIS SIDE! LISTEN WELL, DISTANT BROTHER. THIS GUY—HE'S BEEN TAMPERING WITH TIMELINES FOR A LONG TIME."

"SHUT-UP!" X screeched, attacking more violently than before.

He dodged, and resumed speaking, "FIRST OFF, HE'S EXTREMELY RUDE—AS YOU CAN SEE. SECOND OFF, THIS GUY… I'M NOT SURE WHAT HE'S PLANNING, BUT HE KEEPS COMING TO AUS AND… MESSING WITH THEM."

X turned to see me and shouted back more weakly and uncertain than before, "don't listen to him papyrus—he's lying!"

"NO I'M NOT!" Sans lunged himself at X, and the two of them clashed their bone rods together for a decent amount of time, sending blue and green magic sparks flying, "YOU'VE BEEN DOING THIS STUFF FOR A WHILE NOW! IN FACT, INK SAYS IF YOU KEEP IT UP, YOU'LL FRACTURE THE TIMELINES!"

"THAT'S A NECESSARY COST!" X shoved the blue Sans to the ground, and he let out a cry as he hit the snow, "i need to do that! otherwise i'll—" he paused, and then grabbed the skeleton's shirt, causing him to dangle helplessly in the air.

"UWAA! PAPYRUS—HELP ME! I—I CAN'T TELEPORT!" he shimmered with green code for a moment before X raised his bone.

"everything i do is necessary…" he muttered, "even—killing you…"

"X—STOP!"

"WAIT—X!" I darted forwards, but before I could do anything more, there was a bright burst of energy, and suddenly another Sans appeared out of nowhere.

"Sorry I'm late. I missed all the fun, didn't I?"

"INK! YOU CAME!"

The Sans named Ink stepped forward, and X took a wary step back, "Sorry I couldn't come sooner—I was caught up in something," he turned to face X and I, and I could feel his eyes burning into us, "So you two are responsible for this, huh? How cruel. Then again, it's just the usual for you, isn't it?" Ink glared at X, helping the other Sans to his feet, and I could feel my body tremble and my brain wrack in confusion. What's happening!?

"WHAT IS GOING ON!?" I screeched.

None of them responded except for X, who simply grumbled, "these are the enemies i mentioned earlier."

"WHY ARE THEY MAD AT YOU AGAIN!?" I asked, my voice filled with confusion.

"nevermind. just c'mon! we have to escape—"

"Wait X…"

There was an intense pause before he answered coldly, "what do you want, ink?"

"That Papyrus… he seems rather confused. I take it you stole him, didn't you?" one of his eyes turned a deep shade of red and formed the shape of a target, as if threatening to strike.

"no," he grunted, "he just tagged along. but the company's nice. anyways, let's get out of here papyrus. i can teleport us closer to the data stream—" he grabbed my arm, but I pulled away fiercely.

"WHAT!? NO! YOU'RE A CRIMINAL! I'M NOT GOING WITH YOU!"

He blinked, shock filling his eyes, and for a moment, I detected that same worry from before, only it was replaced with anger instantly, "no…? you realize… that means that if we meet again, papyrus, i'll be sure to give you a bad time. is that what you want from me? after i saved your life?"

I hesitated, realizing he was right. I didn't know who Ink was, or the other Sans, but I was sure that staying with X was a bad idea. Not to mention, the others seemed nicer, but despite their heroic appearances, I could see restriction hiding behind them. Following them meant they'd refuse to tell me anything, like X, but unlike X, they had no leniency. I knew after a bit of nagging I could get him to tell me what was going on, but the others would probably just send me back—and I didn't want to go back! Not after…

"Well Papyrus? What's your choice? Are you going to become an outlaw like _him_?"

I shuttered at the mention of "outlaw", and took a step forward. I couldn't stay with X. He just… wasn't what I hoped he was. If he's the bad guy… "X… YOU AREN'T REALLY… BAD, ARE YOU?" I turned towards him warily.

"depends on your interpretation. by now i've just taken the label, but i see what i do as a necessary expense of my goal, but call me dark-hearted if you must. anyways, if you've made up your mind, i'll be leaving. **_later, traitor._** "

"WAIT!" in a flash of numbers, X was gone. Nothing I could've said would've stopped him though, I knew. I had made my choice…

"Good choice, Papyrus. I'm glad you could gravitate to the light," he smiled, "Sorry to worry you, the name's Ink, and this is Sans—but we all call him Blue, since there's more than one Sans here right now."

"MAKES SENSE… SORT OF," I sighed, still unsure if this wasn't just some crazy dream, "SO… WHAT HAPPENS NOW?"

"WE'LL TAKE YOU TO THE DOODLE SPHERE! WE CAN GET YOU HOME FROM THERE—DON'T WORRY! EVERYTHING'LL BE ALRIGHT SOON ENOUGH."

"Oh…" I sighed, "I have to go back…" I looked down, "I thought I'd never have to…"

There was a pause, "Are you okay, Papyrus?" Ink asked, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"I'll be okay… I…" I shook my head, "I'M JUST SAD THE FUN IS COMING TO AN END—THAT'S ALL."

"AWW… SORRY TO DISAPPOINT YOU THEN. ANYWAYS, INK CAN TAKE YOU THERE BY HIMSELF. I NEED TO FINISH THIS PUZZLE, SO I CAN'T REALLY HELP YOU—SORRY… ANYWAYS, HAVE FUN IN THE DOODLE SPHERE! I THINK YOU'LL LIKE IT!"

"He's right! It's a pretty cool hideout," Ink stretched out his hand, "Come on Papyrus—we've got no time to waste."

I nodded, and after I placed my hand in his, in a whirl of color, he took me to the Doodle Sphere Blue was so excited about. The colors around me began to morph into shapes, and eventually I found myself standing on an island. Ink let go of my hand and stretched his arms out to the vastness beyond.

"Welcome to my home—the Doodle Sphere!"


End file.
